How To Create Your Own Workout Routine - (Plans and Exercises)

How To Create Your Own Workout Routine - (Plans and Exercises). A strength training program should be guided primarily by one’s training goal. How To Create Your Own Workout Routine - (Plans and Exercises). Broadly, training goals may fall into one of these categories – 

(i) muscular strength

(ii) muscular endurance 

(iii) hypertrophy (increased muscle size). 

A common man or woman may be happy with just overall fitness. Athletes and sportspersons will do it for improving their sports performance. 

Professionals like members of the police or army may find it useful to achieve prescribed physical fitness standards set for them. Like any other exercise program, strength training also should take into account the following principles of exercise / FITT factors – 

Specificity 

Identify your training goals. Identify the muscles that come into play in your specific game, sports, or job. Select specific exercises that target those relevant muscle groups. 

Beginners should select exercises to work out their all-important large and small muscles for overall conditioning, viz., chest, shoulders, upper back, lower back, thighs, calves, abdomen, biceps, and triceps. 

Afterward, they can select specific exercises as per their goal.

Frequency

When we say that strength training should be done 3-5 times a week, we mean that the strength training of the same muscle group has to be done 3-5 times a week. 

There should be a recovery gap of 48-72 hours (not less than one day and more than two days) between two sessions. 

A beginner can have two sessions in a week (e.g, Monday and Thursday) or three sessions (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). 

Advanced trainees can have workouts on three days. ( How built stamina like Iron man ) A split routine allows them four or more sessions also. 

However, it is important to avoid workout of the same muscle groups two days in a row. Workouts may be planned thus – Upper body on Monday and Thursday; lower body on Tuesday and Friday. 

There may be several other combinations depending upon your time constraints.

Progression

Once you overload your system, your muscles would adapt to it by increasing their strength. If you continue your training with the same load, (i.e., the same number of repetitions /sets with the same weight), you will not gain further. 

Therefore, go on increasing your training load to reach your full training potential.

How do you know that it is time to increase the load? 

2-for-2-rule may help you in this regard. According to this rule, if you can complete 02 more repetitions than the repetition goal in the final set of an exercise for 02 consecutive training sessions. 

The load in all sets of that exercise should be increased in the next training session. 

For example, if your repetition goal is 10 in an exercise and you can complete 2 more repetitions (i.e., 12 repetitions) in the final set in two consecutive training sessions, it is time to increase load during the next training session. 

The next question comes: how much weight should you increase?

The answer is, increase the weight with which you can perform a minimum number of required repetitions of your target range. 

For example, if your target range of repetitions is 8-10 per set, you should be able to perform, minimum of 8 repetitions with the increased weight. 

Overload

Overloading in strength training can be done by-

(i) increasing weight/resistance, 

(ii) increasing the total number of repetitions/sets, 

(iii) reducing recovery time between two sets, 

(iv) reducing repetition velocity by slowing down muscle movement. 

(For example, while doing bench press, take 8 seconds (instead of the usual 4 seconds) to lower down the weight).

It is important to perform all repetitions while strictly maintaining the correct form and technique. Secondly, the required number of repetitions should be done until total muscle failure. 

Total muscle failure occurs when one cannot do another correct repetition anymore. Never distort your body and compromise with the correct form just to perform one or two additional repetitions. +

You will gain nothing but injury by doing so. The number of repetitions and sets depends upon your primary training goal. 

Beginners may benefit even with one set (during the initial 3-4 weeks). However, you will have to perform 2-6 sets to reach your full potential. 

Select a weight that allows you to do a prescribed range of repetitions. The following guidelines will be useful in this regard –

It is important to perform the same number of repetitions in each set. It may happen that the fatigue caused by the earlier set may not allow you to perform the same number of repetitions in the subsequent set. 

Then you have two options to reach your repetitions goal – 

(i) take the assistance of your partner (spotter), or, 

(ii) drop some load and perform the target number of repetitions.

Recovery 

The duration of a recovery period between two sets is an important factor in strength training. For endurance, sets (with lightweight) are performed in quick succession allowing little rest between two sets. 

For strength, sets (with heavyweight) are performed allowing full rest between two sets. 

General guidelines in this regard are given in the following table:

With experience, you will learn about the optimal rest period for you. Full rest means when your rate of breathing becomes normal. 

Variation

Performance of the same set of exercises for a long time may result in overtraining or undertraining of particular muscle groups and boredom of the trainee – all resulting in a decline in performance. The remedy is to introduce variation in exercises. 

For example, different training days may be marked as a heavy, medium, light training day when the load would be heavy, medium, and light respectively, though a number of repetitions may be the same. 

Maintain Balance

While the principle of specificity in strength training is important, equally important is the element of balance. 

Never ignore any muscle group completely, even though you may like to focus on a specific muscle group, train the whole body. 

There should be a balance between the upper body and the lower body. To ensure a balanced workout, do at least one set of exercises for each of the major muscle groups. 

In Final words

A strong lower back adds considerably to our overall strength and protects us against lower back injuries, yet sometimes it is the most neglected area. Never ignore your lower back. In our day-to-day life, lower back injuries are one of the most common injuries. 

They occur due to 

(a) weak lower back and abdominal muscles and 

(b) wrong form and technique of lifting weight. 

I will go to the extent to recommend that, if you have only 5-10 minutes to spare for exercise, exercise your lower back and abdominal muscles only. 

Strong lower back and abdominal muscles are great support for the spine. In absence of strong supporting muscles, the spine will have to bear the maximum load by itself and therefore would be susceptible to injury.

If you have any doubts or queries share your experience in the comment box.

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